There is really no such genre as folk dancing. Rather, there is a large body of unrelated non-classical dance forms. The only thing common to all these dance forms is their rural origins. Many folk dances are performed by ordinary people rather than professional dancers. It is not uncommon that on special occasions, the villagers gather and sing and dance, accompanying themselves on a variety of folk instruments. Such special occasions include harvesting, planting, marriages and religious holidays. The following is a very short list of folk and tribal dances:
1)BIHU Bihu is a folk dance from Assam. It is a very brisk and aggressive dance performed by both boys and girls;
2)CHANGU The changu dance is a folk dance found in Odissa and Andhra Pradesh. It derives its name from the changu, which is a simple tambourine (daf) that is used to accompany this dance;
3)DASAKATHIA This is a folk theatre of Odissa. It is performed by a pair of performers who entertain the audience with dance, songs, and stories;
4)GAIR This is a dance of Rajasthan. It is performed by groups of dancers moving in and out with an almost military precision;
5)GATKA A folk dance utilizing swords, daggers, or sticks and performed in the Punjab;
6)KACCHI GODDHI This is a folk dance of Rajasthan that is performed with a dummy horse;
7)KIKLI A women's folk dance of the Punjab;
8)MATHURI A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh;
9)RAAS This is a folk dance from Gujarat. It is traditionally danced at marriages and during the time of Navaratri;
FOLK DANCES
There is really no such genre as folk dancing. Rather, there is a large body of unrelated non-classical dance forms. The only thing common to all these dance forms is their rural origins. Many folk dances are performed by ordinary people rather than professional dancers. It is not uncommon that on special occasions, the villagers gather and sing and dance, accompanying themselves on a variety of folk instruments. Such special occasions include harvesting, planting, marriages and religious holidays. The following is a very short list of folk and tribal dances:
1)BIHU Bihu is a folk dance from Assam. It is a very brisk and aggressive dance performed by both boys and girls;
2)CHANGU The changu dance is a folk dance found in Odissa and Andhra Pradesh. It derives its name from the changu, which is a simple tambourine (daf) that is used to accompany this dance;
3)DASAKATHIA This is a folk theatre of Odissa. It is performed by a pair of performers who entertain the audience with dance, songs, and stories;
4)GAIR This is a dance of Rajasthan. It is performed by groups of dancers moving in and out with an almost military precision;
5)GATKA A folk dance utilizing swords, daggers, or sticks and performed in the Punjab;
6)KACCHI GODDHI This is a folk dance of Rajasthan that is performed with a dummy horse;
7)KIKLI A women's folk dance of the Punjab;
8)MATHURI A folk dance of Andhra Pradesh;
9)RAAS This is a folk dance from Gujarat. It is traditionally danced at marriages and during the time of Navaratri;
10)SAKHI NATA This is the puppet dance of Odissa.
(adapted from
http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/nritya/folk_dance.html)